On the back of a moto in the pouring rain, something began to click. With every drop of water sinking into my skin, freedom sunk a little deeper into my heart. The rain washed everything away and my head knowledge began flowing into my soul, flooding my heart with praise.
I am free.
I am free.
Sometimes, honestly, I forget the significance of that in my life. Immersed in Christian communities, I hear it all of the time and I kind of take it for granted. I forget what a gift it is and what grace was shown to me that I was chosen to be His; to be wildly and wonderfully free. I forget that not everyone knows that freedom even exists or worse-can't recognize that they are in bondage in the first place.
I needed the cold splash of rain and her curiosity to wake me up and give me a reality check-and it did.
I sat there on the ride home, absolutely soaked, listening to a friend speak of her religion with a dry tone, trying to convince herself, more than me, that it was enough. I know as well as she though, that it isn't and never has been enough for her. Her questions revealed an inner hope for something more that I'm not even sure she yet recognized and with every one I realized how free I really am in Christ.
"Do you have to go to a church to talk to your God?"
"Do you have to offer sacrifices?"
"Do you have to be a good person to go to heaven?"
"Does he respond to you when you speak to him?"
I thought of the many ornate pagodas and temples that I have visited. Each are filled with statues of Buddha, whose long ears are sculpted by human hands, who hope that the length of the stone will increase it's ability to hear the people's prayers. Urns fill the shelves lining the walls, holding ancestors long since past. In front of these are tables set with carefully prepared feasts that will never be eaten and incense burns as a sacrifice. Smaller versions of these temples are in every storefront, hotel, and home. They believe that the fruit and incense will bring health and wealth and good fortune.
For a moment, I let all that Jesus has done set in.
"Oh your cross, it changes everything."
These lyrics from an album I play on repeat constantly come to mind and the truth resonates in my soul. As God's people, we don't have to offer sacrifices anymore. The old has passed and the new covenant has come. His ultimate sacrifice was enough for all of our sins-past and future. We are FREE! We are free to follow God and live in the Spirit out of a place of love for our Father and not out of fear or the need to be perfect. We are free to talk to God anytime and anywhere. He is in us and all around us. Our God is alive! He sent His only son to earth, because of His great love for us. Jesus lived a perfect life, died as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and rose again defeating sin and death. His death and resurrection set us free-wildly and wonderfully free.
"For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him should never perish, but have eternal life." -John 3:16
